Macular Degeneration News

THURSDAY, Oct. 20, 2016 – Eating a Mediterranean diet and consuming caffeine may lower your chances of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness, according to a new study. Previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet – high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, healthy fats and fish – benefits the heart and lowers cancer risk. But there has been little research on whether it helps protect against eye diseases such as AMD, the researchers noted. Using questionnaires, the researchers assessed the diets of 883 people, aged 55 and older, in Portugal. Of those, 449 had early stage AMD and 434 did not have the eye disease. Closely following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 35 percent lower risk of AMD, and eating lots of fruit was especially beneficial. The researchers also found that people who consumed high levels of caffeine ... Read more

South San Francisco, CA – October 14, 2016 – Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) 0.5 mg prefilled syringe (PFS) as a new method of administering the medicine. Like the Lucentis 0.5 mg vial, the 0.5 mg PFS is approved to treat people with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and macular edema after retinal vein occlusion (RVO). The Lucentis PFS is the first syringe prefilled with an anti-VEGF medicine FDA-approved to treat two eye conditions. “The FDA approval of the Lucentis prefilled syringe marks a new milestone in our ongoing commitment to people affected by vision-threatening eye diseases,” said Sandra Horning, M.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. “With the PFS, physicians will have a new option for adm ... Read more

THURSDAY, Aug. 4, 2016 – Blindness is what many Americans fear most, a new survey shows. "These findings underscore the importance of good eyesight to most and that having good vision is key to one's overall sense of well-being," said lead researcher Dr. Adrienne Scott and colleagues. Scott is an assistant professor of opthalmology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "The consistency of these findings among the varying ethnic/racial groups underscores the importance of educating the public on eye health and mobilizing public support for vision research," the researchers added in a news release. The nationwide online poll, commissioned by the nonprofit health research group known as Research!America, found that 88 percent of more than 2,000 respondents considered good vision vital to overall health. And 47 percent said losing their sight would have the most ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, July 13, 2016 – Routine eye checkups often pick up unnoticed problems, particularly in older adults, a new study says. "In asymptomatic patients, comprehensive routine optometric eye examinations detect a significant number of new eye conditions and/or results in management changes," said the study's author, Elizabeth Irving, and her colleagues from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. More than half of people with no new symptoms or vision problems receive new prescriptions or treatment changes as a result of routine eye exams, the researchers found. The need for vision prescription changes was found for two out of five people, the study noted. Meanwhile, 16 percent were diagnosed with a new eye condition and 31 percent had a change in their ongoing care, researchers found. The study included data on nearly 6,400 patients who visited a university eye clinic over ... Read more

-- You pay regular visits to your family doctor and dentist, so why not your eye doctor? Regular eye exams can prevent or spot serious problems that could lead to impaired sight. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests seeing an eye doctor promptly if you have: Difficulty seeing properly, including double vision. Redness of your eye, draining or eye pain. Floaters, small specks that seem to "float" in front of your eyes. Diabetes. Halos that appear to surround lights. Visions that appear to resemble flashes of light. Read more

FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 – New medications are boosting quality of life for many older people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a new study indicates. The drugs Avastin and Lucentis have significantly increased the number of people with AMD whose vision remains good enough to do daily activities, such as read standard print or drive, researchers found. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans, the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI) says. Ten years ago, the best available treatment for AMD was photodynamic therapy, which used an intravenous drug and laser treatment to seal off leaking blood vessels in the eye that cause AMD, the researchers explained. However, one year after diagnosis, less than 15 percent of patients who received photodynamic therapy alone had 20/40 vision, which is typically good enough to read standard print or ... Read more

THURSDAY, May 19, 2016 – As baby boomers age, the number of Americans with vision problems and blindness is expected to double over the next three decades, a new study suggests. In 2015, slightly more than 12 million Americans had a vision problem. But by 2050, that number will rise to 25 million, the researchers predicted. "This study gives us a GPS for our nation's future eye health," said lead researcher Dr. Rohit Varma, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. "Our group and others have shown in previous studies that those who suffer from vision loss not only have a decreased quality of life but can also experience both physical and mental health decline, including an increased risk for chronic health conditions such as diabetes, depression and even death," he said. The economic burden from vision loss and eye ... Read more

TUESDAY, March 1, 2016 – There's just not enough good data to say whether or not seniors should be routinely screened for vision trouble by their primary care physicians, an influential panel of U.S. experts reports. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) believes current data isn't adequate to assess the potential benefits and harms of such screening in people 65 or older. The task force is an independent, volunteer panel of experts that reviews the scientific evidence and makes recommendations on preventive health services. "We need more evidence on accurate ways to screen for eye conditions in older adults in a primary care setting," task force chair Dr. Al Siu said in a USPSTF news release. Siu is Mount Sinai Health System chair, and a professor in the department of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. ... Read more

MONDAY, Feb. 29, 2016 – People with diabetes are at risk for blurred vision or even a loss of vision from a condition called macular edema. Three drugs for the disease – Avastin, Eylea and Lucentis – vary widely in price, but new research suggests all work equally well for patients with mild vision loss. However, when diabetic macular edema leads to more severe vision loss, researchers found Eylea to be the better choice. The study, funded by the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI), "will help doctors and their patients with diabetic macular edema choose the most appropriate therapy," study lead author Dr. John Wells said in an institute news release. "The study suggests there is little advantage of choosing Eylea or Lucentis over [much cheaper] Avastin when a patient's loss of visual acuity from macular edema is mild, meaning a visual acuity of 20/40 or better," Wells explained. ... Read more

-- You may be wary about applying those new eyedrops prescribed by your doctor. The Cleveland Clinic recommends: Use warm water and soap to wash your hands, then dry with a clean towel. Either grab a mirror or lie down before applying the medicine. Look up at the ceiling, then use one hand to pull down the lower eyelid. Hold the medicine in your other hand, resting on your forehead if needed. Without letting the tip of the bottle or tube touch the eye, gently place the medicine inside your lower eyelid. Then close your eye. If you are taking both an ointment and an eye drop, put the eye drop in first. Wait about five minutes before applying the ointment. Read more

THURSDAY, Feb. 4, 2016 – High doses of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs – medicines such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor – may help people with a common eye disease called macular degeneration, a small study suggests. In the early stage clinical trial, a team from Harvard Medical School assessed the effects of statin treatment in people with the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD affects more than 150 million people worldwide. The dry form is much more common and accounts for about 85 percent of cases, according to the researchers. Effective treatments are available for the wet form of AMD, but not the dry form, so dry-form AMD remains the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. In AMD, fat deposits form under the retina, so that patients develop blurring or blindness in the center of their vision. In the study, 23 patients with dry-form AMD were given ... Read more

THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2015 – A common Parkinson's disease medication might hold potential for preventing or treating macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, new research suggests. At this stage, no one is recommending that patients take the drug, levodopa (L-dopa), to thwart eye disease. But the findings are intriguing, researchers said. "Patients taking L-dopa for any reason are much less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration. If they do, they develop the disease much later in life than those not taking L-dopa," said study lead author Brian McKay, an associate professor of ophthalmology and vision science at the University of Arizona. However, the study doesn't actually prove that levodopa causes a lower incidence of age-related macular degeneration. It only uncovered an association between the two. Age-related macular degeneration affects ... Read more

FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2015 – Birth weight and growth during childhood could affect hearing, vision, thinking and memory later in life, a new study suggests. "Sensory problems and illness such as dementia are an increasing problem, but these findings suggest that issues begin to develop right from early life," said the study's leader, Dr. Piers Dawes. He is a lecturer in audiology at the University of Manchester's School of Psychological Sciences in England. "While interventions in adulthood may only have a small effect, concentrating on making small improvements to birth size and child development could have a much greater impact on numbers of people with hearing, vision and cognitive [mental] impairment," Dawes said in a university news release. However, the study findings don't mean that parents of children who don't physically match their average-sized peers at birth or as they're growing ... Read more

THURSDAY, Oct. 8, 2015 – Your parents may have told you, "Eat your carrots, they're good for your eyes," and a new study suggests they were on to something. Pigments called carotenoids – which give red or orange hues to carrots, sweet potatoes and orange peppers, or deep greens to produce like spinach, broccoli and kale – may help ward off the age-linked vision ailment known as macular degeneration, researchers said. While the study can't prove cause-and-effect, one vision care expert wasn't surprised by the findings. "I tell my patients that fruit and vegetable consumption are very important for eye health – this study validates that notion," said Dr. Paul Bernstein, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common causes of vision loss, especially in the ... Read more

TUESDAY, March 31, 2015 – A number of nutrients can help keep your eyes healthy, and some may even improve your eyesight, an eye doctor says. It's particularly important to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, said Dr. James McDonnell, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill. "Make a colorful plate, especially with greens, blues and reds. Certain foods have distinct benefits for the eyes in addition to overall health, including many of the trendy superfoods such as kale, broccoli and sweet potatoes," he said in a Loyola news release. McDonnell said healthy eating might help protect you from cataracts, macular degeneration – a leading cause of vision loss in older Americans – and even blindness. He listed several nutrients that are especially good for your eyes. Astaxanthin. "This supernutrient protects eyes from developing cataracts, ... Read more